Originally Posted by
Chandne
Alright, that is a good point. My jackets are very lightly water resistant though and I get soaked in 5 mins. The main issue in the winter is the cold rain so some more water resistance would be helpful (I'm already looking for winter boots...shoudl have posted that too). Could you recommend some highly water resistant shells...and boots?
Exactly. It's about limiting but not preventing water ingress. You need the water to cool you or you waste energy unsuccessfully trying to get ride of heat. That's called sweating in a waterproof. You also can't have too much water coming in or you waste energy heating the water.
After 20 years of riding in the rain in the PNW, my favorite shell is the
Voler Jet Wind Jacket. My test is to hold the fabric up to my mouth and try to suck air through it. No air, no good. Too much air, no good.
The trick is to get the layering right for the conditions. I find that if my layering is correct for the dry conditions and it starts to rain, I put on the jacket and I'm still correct.
Edit: Oh, boots . . . Lakes. Most folks find that their regular bike shoe size will be correct. But boots don't really do it either, because in a real rain, water runs down your legs and into the boots. So you visit your dive store and buy a pair of replacement dry suit leg seals. Trim them to fit and put them on your naked ankles right above your boots, then turn them down to cover your boot tops. Problem solved.
Of course you don't wear rain pants, but rather a pair of tights of a thickness appropriate to the temperatures.